Systems administrators for organizations that utilize various hardware and software platforms such as IBM™ mainframe, Unix™, Linux™, Java™, IBM DataStage™, etc. typically are required to separately monitor and schedule jobs on the various platforms. Disparate methods and software routines are used according to individual system requirements to obtain the status of each job running on each distinct platform. Monitoring multiple applications on different platforms is manually intensive, time consuming, difficult and complicated. Often the computer platforms are incompatible for interaction from one another. Typically, administrators must be trained and knowledgable of the operations and nuances of each individual system or platform before they can effectively handle all the required monitoring and scheduling tasks. In some cases, the information provided by each system is insufficient to accurately track the status of each job being run.
In a workplace environment such as a large retail store, there is typically a need for many different computer systems to organize and manage the various aspects of the retail business. For example, there can be a need for managing employee schedules and payroll that can be met with a Microsoft™ or Apple™ server/computer in an office area. The can be a need in the shipping area for a computerized system, perhaps an IBM mainframe system, to monitor shipping schedules for the arrival of goods to the store, and the shipping of goods to customers. A separate Unix computer system can be used to manage the store inventory. Overnight batch jobs in Java can be run for bill payment and other financial matters in the accounting department. In sum, there are many different incompatible computer platforms used in a retail store environment for running various jobs to keep the business running smoothly. Furthermore, each of the batch jobs running on a different incompatible platform must be individually separately monitored with separate periodic job summaries and displays to apprise management of crucial information.
Improvements in computer workflow management is desirable to provide accurate, up-to-date, real time status as well as scheduling of each process/job running on a group of different incompatible computer platforms.